LRX21R started going out as an OTA for Nexus 9 users on the LRX21Q build yesterday, but today Google has posted the complete factory image. You can get it here.

Hopefully this new R build will upgrade users currently stuck on LRX21L (the OTA to Q simply fails), though we don't know that for certain, as it's currently only rolling out in OTA form for those on the Q build.

When you've already created a browser-based interactive experience that lets players explore a 3D recreation of various locales spread throughout Middle-earth, how do you up your game? You add multiplayer. At least, that's what Google's decided to do. The company has updated its "A Journey Through Middle-earth" Chrome experiment with the ability for players to challenge each other to a bout of Hobbit-inspired fun.

Google developers designed the game using web technologies such as WebRTC and WebGL.

Let's change the way we think about Google Glass for a moment. At the end of the day, they're just too jarring for the average person to feel comfortable wearing in public. To people who don't know what they are, they're weird. To people who do, they're $1,500 worth of easily-stolen accessory being flaunted on your face.

For a limited-time, Google is willing to pay people to invite their friends to use Wallet. The tech giant will provide you and the recipient with $5 in credit whenever a friend who doesn't already have a Google Wallet balance receives money from you. Any amount is fine, including as little as a penny. All that matters is that you both live in the US and that they don't already have an account.

Those lucky few who were able to order a Nexus 6 from the Play Store in that first round should have a surprise on their doorsteps very soon. Buyers started getting shipping notifications last night indicating the devices are on the way.

Most of us don't want to think of Android without Google Play services. There's a good reason for that, without all of the tools Google offers, we would miss out on features like push notifications, integrated maps, and even newer things like Google Fit. Developers keep asking for more and Google is answering that call. With the latest release of Google Play services, new features are coming to Fit, Maps, Drive, And Wallet.

Google's latest and greatest smartphone is still hard to come by in most of the world (i.e. impossible), but Indian buyers can now pre-order the phone for quite a lot of money. Flipkart is offering both colors and storage sizes on its website for shipping in the second week of December.

Anybody who owns an ADT-1 has noticed the inexplicable absence of a Play Music app, something that became even more apparent after the Nexus Player began shipping with it. Well, the wait is finally over! An update to the Play Music app began rolling out earlier today, and it includes a banner on the Leanback Launcher for those of us with Google's development hardware. If you've got a Nexus Player, you haven't been left out with this update.

Now that Lollipop is out in the wild to be abused in every which way, we're starting to see the bugs pop up. The latest one has to do with that new flashlight toggle in quick settings. If you turn it on and leave it like that until it times out and shuts off, the camera and flashlight will stop working until you reboot. This is confirmed at least on the Nexus 5.

The Nexus 9 is a good tablet, but the price is a little high for what you get. You know what isn't priced high? Refurbished 2013 Nexus 7s. A cache of these tablets makes an appearance every now and then, and you can get one today on eBay for just $139.95.